Dragonball Z: Gohan's Story
by TheMoldyCrow
Summary: A story of Gohan's life, had he kept up his training after Cell, and had Toriamaya's producers not pressured him to bring back Goku. Inevitable GV. R&R, suckers! Chapter Four Now Up! Enojy!
1. Default Chapter

Author's Notes: Evening, all. Moldy, here. Haven't posted in a long-ass time, but I'm back. Ever wonder what would have happened if Goku's conversation with Gohan at the end of the Cell Saga was little different? Or, perhaps instead you have wondered how would the Buu Saga be different had Gohan kept up his training? I have, and typed this up to sate my curiosity. Enjoy!  
  
Note: Piccolo refers to Gohan as "student" several times. This is the greatest form of affection he can gift Gohan with. When called this, Gohan always responds with "teacher", the expected reciprocal.  
  
Chapter One: Power And Responsibility  
  
"Son, there's one more thing I have to say," said Son Goku, the recently deceased and former most powerful warrior in the universe, to his son, Gohan. His young boy, still recovering from the fight with Cell, turned.  
"Yes, Daddy?" His use of the affectionate name only put emphasis on his youth. A reality away, in Heaven, Goku shrugged his shoulders, wincing. The boy had seen enough to last ten lifetimes and Goku was planning to lay yet another burden on his only offspring.  
"Son, you have.a power no one else does." Goku swallowed again, despite the fact his son was only hearing a telepathic thought, not an actual voice. "And with me.not coming back, I. I need you to look after things for me. Keep your skills sharp, son, because you'll never know when you might need them." Goku's tone turned to that of one laughing. "Sides, we can't have Piccolo getting bored, can we?"  
Gohan smiled through his tears. "Anything you say, Tousan. I promise I won't get weak again, and let more people down."  
Goku's heart nearly broke at hearing his son's words. "I promise to try to talk to you as often as I can, Gohan. Tell your mother I love her."  
Gohan cried openly now, though he tried to hide it from the other Z fighters. "Bye, Tousan!" he called to winds. "I'll see you again, someday!"  
The other defenders of Earth joined Gohan's send-off, adding in their own personal comments and good-byes. Only Vegeta remained silent, giving Kakkarott the respect worthy of a high-class Saiyan warrior.  
Kakkarott.I'm the only full-blooded Saiyan left, now. I'll look after you spawn and woman. Don't worry, Kakkarott. The Earth is in good hands. The Saiyan race will die with me, as the gods intended it. Someday I will join you, and journey to Hell to see my race once more. Until that day Kakkarott.  
Until that day.  
  
Seven Years Later  
  
Gohan disappeared into thin air, performing several consecutive zanzoken maneuvers perfectly. When he reappeared, several dozen blasts of ki ripped from his palms and reduced the small boulder he was aiming it to dust. Gohan held the barrage for several seconds and leapt forward, grunting with exertion as he engaged another rock in combat, reducing it to rubble with only his feet.  
Gohan kept his training routine for nearly forty-five minutes before he felt the familiar ki he was trying to draw out. Ah, he thought. Piccolo.  
The green-skinned Namek appeared moments later, already in his basic stance. It was vaguely reminiscent of a coiled cobra, something his lizard- like appearance was quite at home with. A lesser fighter would have barely recognized it for what it was at all, it looked so casual. Large, razor- sharp canines were displayed in the rare toothy grin Gohan's mentor was flashing him, a grin Gohan returned. It had been a while since Gohan had been able to train, what with his entrance exams to Orange Star to study for and all. The young demi-Saiyan was pleased to burn some energy.  
With no effort, Gohan gave a little push of ki and felt the familiar addictive rush of the Super Saiyan form flow through him. His hair stood even more on end than usual and turned a brilliant golden color, stained so by the flaxen aura that sprung up around him. His eyes turned a vivid shade of cerulean, cold as a thousand glaciers. A small, typically Saiyan smirk formed on Gohan's face. For a moment, the two aliens stood there, poised motionlessly to fight.  
Suddenly, with a rush of energy and a roar of power, they sprung at each other. Piccolo, with his blend of his own fighting style and the Holy Namekian style he had inherited from Nail, nearly gained the upper-hand quickly. Gohan, utilizing Goku's form of Kaio-style and bits of the Demon King's style Piccolo taught him, struck back just as quickly.  
Gohan took the offensive, as he often did. He began with a series of quick, nearly-undetectable jabs and followed those up with a powerful ki- assisted left hook. Piccolo's unusually flexible Namekian body allowed him to dodge with scant more than scratch on his nose. Gohan grunted and rose his ki, the golden flames burning all the more fiercely around him. After sending Piccolo crashing into the pile of rubble his earlier training had done, Gohan put his on top of one another and held them above his head, gathering ki into himself. As soon as Piccolo revealed himself, Gohan brought his hands down remarkably fast to point at Piccolo. A holy chant heralding his attack tore from his lips.  
"MASENKO.HAA!" Gohan roared. The river of blood-red ki that poured from his palms impacted fully with Piccolo, who was driven back to his knees on impact.  
With a loud grunt, Piccolo rose his own ki and erected a translucent shield while he got a grip. This Piccolo managed with some difficulty, shifting his "hold" on the ki, trying to get the best leverage. The unstable energy began to throb, and Piccolo knew that it would soon explode. With a mighty groan of effort, Piccolo threw the energy high into the air, where it detonated harmlessly.  
Gohan, still breathing hard from his attack, zanzokened down to Piccolo's level and began again his flurry of attacks, hoping to end the fight soon.  
The pair fought for several minutes more, becoming invisible to the human eye. Their punches were roughly the speed of sound; they each contained the energy of a meteor impact. Finally, Piccolo won a rare victory by knocking Gohan into the small pond several miles from his house, a barrier long decided by the two that would serve as a "ring out" should they touch the surface of the water.  
"Not bad, Piccolo," Gohan laughed, scratching the back of his head absently with his arms.  
The Namek laughed too; save for his was low chuckle that would make a person who didn't know him run screaming into the night. "You're getting better. Been training regularly?"  
Gohan nodded in an affirmative. "Not as much as Vegeta would like, but yes. I sparred him a month ago, you know. He finally made 2."  
Piccolo scowled. "Super Saiyan 2, eh? Great, now he'll be even more insufferable. Bastard Saiyan." he muttered, absently reducing a small shrub to dust.  
Gohan grinned even wider. "You're just jealous cause he could wipe the floor with you."  
Piccolo growled. "Watch it, kid, or I'll show you what the Makankosappo looks like when you're on the receiving end."  
Gohan laughed again, flashing the famous Son family grin. "Try it, Jolly Green Giant, and I'll show you a Kienzan that would make Cell himself shit his pants."  
"You use that language around your mother, kid?"  
The grin reappeared on Gohan's face. "What, you didn't expect me to say 'darn' my whole life, did you? Besides, I'm entering a real high school next month, and I thought it wouldn't hurt to expand my vocabulary a little."  
Piccolo smirked. "Just make sure your mother isn't around when you say 'damn' in front of your new friends. Wouldn't want her to break out the frying pan, would we?"  
Gohan mock-shivered. "I swear, that damn pan hurts as much as anything Freiza could do. Between her and Android 17, I'd still pick 17."  
Piccolo growled. "17. Yet another one who is in severe need of a beating. Give me ten minutes and he'd wish-"  
Suddenly, Piccolo was cut off by a large explosion. An object moving so fast it was invisible to the naked eye streaked across the sky, leaving a flaming trail in its wake. Piccolo and Gohan, each seeing several dozen times better than any mere human, watched in awe as it vanished from sight, dipping lower and lower as it tore through the horizon.  
"What the fuck was that?!" Gohan exclaimed, taking to the air to get a better view.  
"Spacepod of some sort," Piccolo grunted. "Couldn't see what kind."  
"Think it's worth investigating?" Gohan asked hopefully. He itched for a real fight, for an adventure.  
"Probably not. Mention it to Bulma next time you see her." Piccolo gave Gohan a long, sideways glance. "Besides, don't you start hide school tomorrow?"  
"It's 'high school', not 'hide school'. And yes, I have to report to Orange Star at seven o'clock tomorrow."  
"And I assume this means you'll train less?" Piccolo's tone was displeased.  
"Not really. I already know more than the level they usually graduate at, but Mom wanted me to have an actual graduation and diploma and all that. Besides, except for you, Vegeta's family, Mom, and Goten, I don't really have any contact with the outside world. Mom wanted me off the mountain a couple hours a day."  
"Mom, Mom, Mom," Piccolo imitated, smirking. "For someone who has seen so much, you certainly haven't lost that.what do you call it? Mamma's boy philosophy. Hasn't the Bastard called you on that, yet?"  
Gohan smiled at Piccolo's "affectionate" nickname for Vegeta. "Not really," he answered. "I can still match him in a fight, so he doesn't wanna tick me off. 'Sides," Gohan nonchalantly powered up a small sphere of ki and began playing with it as he spoke. "Bulma has him pretty much tamed, nowadays. He comes out of his chamber for at least twice a day to play with Trunks, trains him less than four hours a day, has dinner with them, and is forbidden from the word 'fuck', all on Bulma's orders."  
Piccolo grinned, a scary predatory one that gave little children nightmares. "Tamed by a pair of mammary glands and intercourse. And you wonder why I'm glad I'm not a mammal."  
"Yes, but at least it was nice pair of 'mammary glands' that did the taming," Gohan laughed with a lecherous grin.  
Piccolo sighed. "I though you were above such adolescent quips. Obviously, I was mistaken."  
"No, Piccolo. I hope to be very below such quips, if I'm to get a girlfriend sometime in the next century," Gohan added his famous Son family grin, albeit more perverted than usual.  
"Well, your mother will be after me if I don't let you home soon. Make sure to tell Bulma of that pod. I'll keep an eye on it overnight for you. Good luck, student."  
Gohan nodded, suddenly as serious as his mentor. "I won't forget. Even if it is one of Freiza's endless relatives or something, someone we can deal with easily, they could still hurt a lot of people. Thank you for your blessing, teacher."  
The two turned their backs to each other and, with a brief ignition of ki, shot off to their respective destinations. 


	2. Chapter 2: The Great Saiyaman is Born

Chapter Two: The Great Saiyaman is Born!  
  
THE NEXT MORNING Gohan rose extra early and carefully selected his clothes. In the end, he decided on a pair of red trousers, a long white sleeved shirt, and a black vest on which he pinned his Orange Star badge, which all students were ordered to wear. As per his usual custom, he dragged a comb through his hair, but only succeeded in tangling several of the broken teeth in his impossible mane of hair. Before heading downstairs, Gohan grabbed the messenger bag his mother made for him when he was younger and flung his notebooks in it. Pausing only to check his reflection in the mirror one last time, Gohan thundered downstairs, where his younger brother, Goten, and mother waited him.  
"Yay! It's Gohan!" Goten exclaimed when Gohan walked in. Gohan smiled. His younger brother was the splitting image of their father and was nearly a mirror in personality. Gohan paused on his way to his place at the table to affectionately rub his brother's head as he passed.  
"You're the best brother a kid-" Gohan began.  
"Mom! Gohan's here! Now we can eat!" His eager little eyes turned to Gohan. "I thought you'd never stop looking at yourself in the mirror, Gohan! I'm glad you're back, 'cause now we can eat!"  
Chi-Chi, Gohan's mother, plopped a large plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, toast, and home-made corned-beef hash in front of Gohan.  
"I want you to eat a good, hearty breakfast, Gohan," she told him in her accusatory tone, making him feel like he had done something wrong. "I don't like the sound of that 'cafeteria food.'"  
Gohan sighed with relief. Of course, he felt sorry for the school food system now that the wrath of his formidable mother was trained on it, but at least it wasn't aimed at him. Heartened, Gohan dug into his breakfast with the relish only a Saiyan can feel towards food, pointedly ignoring Goten's comment.  
"Well, Gohan," his mother said when the meal was just about through (something that took the two demi-Saiyans less than four minutes). "I guess it's time for you to leave," she finished thickly.  
"Aww, Mom, it's okay," Gohan told his mother, shouldering his backpack. "I'll be home by five."  
"Oh, Gohan!" Chi-Chi wailed, bursting suddenly into tears. "My little boy's all grown up and leaving his mother home alone all day! Soon he'll be gone off to college and get married and never time for his poor, poor mother!" Gohan's probably bipolar mom subsided into sobs, sitting down at the table and blew her nose on her napkin.  
"Mom, it's okay. It's just high school. It was your idea, remember? I'm not leaving permanently, just for a few hours," Gohan protested weakly, taken aback as he always was at his mother's supreme emotional display.  
"Okay." his mother sniffled. Suddenly she straightened. "Then you be home at four-thirty, Son Gohan, or so help me I'll-"  
"Okay, Mum, bye!" Gohan interrupted her tirade before she could get going. If he let her build up momentum, she'd never stop. He instead pecked her on the cheek leapt into the air. "NIMBUS!" he called loudly, seeing the little yellow cloud race towards him. Gohan used a small burst of ki and landed deftly on the cloud, settling into its cushion-like mass.  
Leaving his probably bipolar mother and still-waving brother behind, Gohan sped off as fast the cloud could go, streaking towards Satan City, and, more specifically, Orange Star High School, the highest rated high school in the world.  
When Gohan hit the outskirts of the city, he landed, sending the cloud away to wherever it went when it wasn't being used. He hopped down from the cloud and began walking quickly. According to his directions, Orange Star was just a few blocks north.  
"Help! Help me!" Gohan whipped around at hearing a distressed woman's voice call out from a dark alley between two buildings. Without thinking, Gohan dashed towards the voice.  
When Gohan got about twenty feet into the alley, he saw the woman, and why she had been crying. A large, ugly man was holding her down while an even larger, bulkier man was tearing at her jeans, fumbling excitedly. Her mouth was held shut by the first man, who was laughing insanely while his friend, who had just gotten his own pants off, was forcing the girls legs apart.  
At once, anger began to rise in Gohan. They were raping this girl! Gohan felt power crackle to life around him, igniting bits of garbage throughout the alleyway. His transformation came upon him, unbidden, giving all the world a golden sheen as his surveyed it magisterially with cerulean eyes. With a roar of pure, unadulterated rage, Gohan leapt at the bulkier man, catching him across the jaw with his left foot. Gohan felt his jaw liquefy and his neck bone shatter, spinning the rapists head all the way around- twice- and sending him flying into the brick wall of alley with speed of several times that of sound.  
Next, Gohan turned to his partner. This man was also covered in grotesque muscles, although not as many as his friend. He had a strange tattoo on his forehead, like an elaborate M shape. Gohan growled. Who cares what the man had on his forehead? What mattered was him paying for what he was about to do to that woman.  
With another yell of righteous rage, Gohan punched the would-be rapist as hard as he could in the face, feeling bone give way and cheek bones shatter as the man struck the brick wall hard enough to dash his brains all across the pavement. He slid to the ground, his lolling tongue hanging out, grossly purple in death. With a sneer of contempt, Gohan disintegrated his body with brutal motion of his hand.  
"YAMU?" The giant called. Gohan spun around in surprise. It was the first one! How was he still alive? Gohan had ruined his jaw, shattered his spinal column, and had probably broken his skull against the brick. How could he still be up, apparently whole?  
Gohan growled again, a low, menacing sound. His Saiyan fangs were fully displayed now, pumped full of fatal venom. Power rushed from his pores, making the air around him shimmer, like the air over hot pavement. He watched calmly as the giant sprinted at Gohan and dove, aiming to knock him to the ground, as if they were playing football. Gohan flipped backward, timing his arc so that his hands were directly pointed up just as the freak was passing over him. With a rush of ki, Gohan engulfed his opponent in a bath of energy, leaving no trace of him save for a dark cloud of ash.  
His task done, Gohan kept his Super Saiyan form to disguise himself. He would prefer to have a normal high school life, and being thought of as a freak did not usually entail that. He turned to the still crying woman, who had just gathered her pants back up to her hips and was trying to make sure her tattered shirt covered her. The entire encounter had taken maybe five seconds.  
"Are you all right, ma'am?" Gohan asked in his most polite voice. He stared directly into her own eyes, deliberately trying to ignore her nakedness.  
"I'm fine," she stuttered, wiping a tear from her eye. She stood, wincing as her left leg touched the ground. "They grabbed me as I walked by. I had defense-" she held up a small bottle of pepper spray- "But they just laughed. Thank God you came along."  
"But they didn't get far enough, ma'am? You're okay?"  
"I'm fine, just a little. shook up. This city really has gone to Hell lately, you know." The woman seemed to be regaining her composure as she spoke, so Gohan let her babble. "Gangs, drugs. Not even Hercule can do anything about them. You handled those two so well; you should think about going into business. This city could use a hero." She let out a cynical laugh, pulling on her jacket to cover her exposed breasts. "What we call you? Golden Boy?" She laughed again. "Thanks for helping me, I'll just go home and change my clothes. No need to file a police report, I don't think they could fill a snuffbox up with what you left them."  
Gohan paused. A hero? He thought heavily for a moment. Yes, why not? He had read that Satan City had the highest crime rate in the region. The people he had seen had looked forlorn and hopeless, as if they were all just waiting to die. Gohan smirked.  
"Ma'am?" The woman turned around. "Call me Saiyaman." Gohan's voice suddenly became deeper, tougher. More.evil. No, not evil. Vegeta. More Vegeta.  
With an ignition of ki, Gohan flew away.  
  
* * *  
  
"So, if don't have any questions," Headmaster Ithomitis was saying to Gohan, leading him out of his office. "That concludes the tour and orientation of Orange Star High School. You're lucky it's only November, Gohan. You've barely missed anything." Gohan rolled his eyes as he followed the portly administrator to the end of the hallway the main office was located in. Outside the door, a short-blond haired girl waited for them, dressed in skintight purple pants and a green tube top that showed more skin the rape-victim's tattered shirt.  
"Hi!" she exclaimed when she saw him. Gohan winced. It was too early for anyone to be that happy. "I'm Erasa, and I'll be your student-buddy! I'll show you to all your classes, introduce you to your teachers, and help you in your first few weeks at Orange Star! I can see we'll be, like, really good friends! C'mon, first period is starting! We have Physics 12A, down in the Science Lab. The teacher, Mr. Williamson, is."  
Gohan tuned out the annoyingly-bright girl as he followed her down to the Science Lab, hoping she'd eventually get tired of hearing herself talk.  
Fat chance. She whispered to him the whole time in Physics, talked to him in Calculus, whispered again in Latin 4, corresponded by note in Creative Writing, and announced to him that after CW was over, it would be lunch time. The day was split into nine forty-five minute periods at Orange Star, four periods, a twenty-five minute lunch and a twenty-minute study, then four more periods.  
As Erasa and Gohan waited in the lunch line and were served hot, greasy, and generally unrecognizable food, she introduced Gohan to all her friends. There was Sharpner, who proudly told Gohan he was Captain of the Boxing Team, Wrestling Group, and Weightlifting Club, Eusuke, who was either Sharpner's sidekick or lover, Jaclyn and Victoria, who agreed to everything Erasa said and occasionally added such scintillating observations such as "He is sooo hot this year."  
Overall, Gohan was beginning to get bored. The food was hardly enough, leaving Gohan hungry. And a hungry, bored Gohan was not usually a good thing. Gohan was about to do something drastic- that is, break Sharpner's arrogant, pretty-boy jaw, when he saw her across the cafeteria.  
She was easily the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her long, ebony hair cascaded over her shoulders and rested lightly at the level of her collar bone. Her eyes were the purest shade of violet he had ever seen, and smoldered with barely controlled rage. A fighter. Gohan grinned. He liked fighters. He could just imagine her now, her delicately beautiful face set in a determined expression, her body, which was obscured beneath a gigantic T-shirt, splayed into a fighting stance, ready at any moment to attack.  
Gohan broke off his train of thought.  
Careful, he thought to himself. Wouldn't want the little Saiyan to make an entrance.  
"Gohan! Gohan!" Gohan realized for the first time Erasa was poking him in the shoulder. "I said, 'are you doing anything after school?' Well, are you?"  
"Uhh.yeah!" Gohan almost sighed with relief as he thought up a valid excuse. He had to see Bulma anyway, why not just go after school? "I have to.stop by Capsule Corp. and pick up.uh.some capsules.. Yeah, that's right. Uhh-huh." Gohan bobbed his head, feeling stupider by the moment. "And hey, Erasa?"  
The blonde floozy turned back. "Yes?"  
"Who's that girl over there? Sitting by herself?" Gohan motioned subtlety to his mystery girl. Erasa looked over and, for some reason, scowled. Gohan supposed it was because she was so much prettier than Erasa.  
"Oh, that's Videl," Erasa waved a hand in dismissal. "She's Hercule's daughter, but she's so weird. She's like, always angry all the time, and such a bitch. Besides, have you ever seen her fight? What a freak! Who spends all that time trying to learn how to fight?"  
"Videl." Gohan muttered to himself, trying the word out. Videl. What a lovely name. A strange feeling swelled in Gohan's chest. Was it that strange sauce on the 'taco surprise'? Probably. Yeah, that had to be it. Gohan excused himself and headed for the bathroom, taking his stuff with him. With any luck, he'd miss the rest of lunch and be able to proceed directly to his Half-Study Hall.  
  
* * *  
  
"Master Babidi, Spopovitch and Yamu are dead," a gigantic, red- skinned creature said. He was at least nine feet tall and covered in muscle that his blue cloak barely contained. His sharply trimmed goatee and mustache accented a sharp, strong face. Legends of him were prevalent in every culture in the universe. To some he was known as to Lucifer, to others as Satan. Still others called him Morningstar, the Antichrist, others the Beast. The Kaios knew as him the Keeper, while the Nameks called him the End. He was Dabura, Lord of the Demon World, King of the Demons. His power was legendary, the Kais held great fear for him.  
"What?!" An annoying, high-pitched voice answered him. "Impossible! No one on this planet can compete with those two! I gave them enough power to kill the strongest being on this planet easily!" The stunted, twisted creature rubbed his gnarled hands together. Two servants lost. His sickly yellow skin wrinkled in displeasure. "When we scanned this planet three hundred years ago, there was only that Turtle fellow, and Spopovitch and Yamu were three times his strength! How could beings so strong have gained their power so quickly?"  
"I do not know, my lord," the Demon King answered. "But think how easily it will be to gather the necessary energy to resurrect Majin Buu. Their largest fighting tournament is in only four months; we could easily pick another slave. All we'd have to do is choose someone with a personal vendetta against one of the competitors. Their Majin Power would be much greater that way."  
"I know the Majin Power works, Dabura!" Babidi snapped. The old wizard was irritable today. He always was when his plans didn't go exactly the way he wanted. "Get yourself a disguise and do that for me. Observe carefully. Pay attention to the younger contestants, especially those with mates. Mammals are always coveting another mammal's mates."  
"Yes, my lord. And what of the Kaioshin?"  
Babidi cackled. "The East Kaioshin and that bodyguard of his will cease to be a problem after Majin Buu is released, Dabura. Even you are stronger than that Kibito, and Majin Buu makes you look like a weakling!" Dabura sneered in displeasure at his master's affront to his power. Babidi cackled again, rubbing his hands together. "Soon, the universe will be mine, and the Supreme Kai will feel my revenge!"  
The laughter filled the underground complex, echoing off walls and assaulting the ears of his slaves.  
  
* * *  
  
Gohan sat in the waiting room at Capsule Corp., trying to pass the time while he waited for Bulma. The azure-headed scientist had dove right into Gohan's disguise dilemma, dashing off to her lab to solve the problem right away. Trunks, who by strange coincidence was at the zoo with his grandmother, had left Gohan with nothing to do but sit in silence. Gohan's mind was too abuzz with thoughts to meditate properly and his homework was done, so the young demi-Saiyan was left with nothing to do but wait for Bulma to be done.  
About an hour after getting out of school, Gohan felt a familiar power getting closer. Vegeta. A split-second later, his sensitive Saiyan nose picked up the Elite's distinctive scent and his acute hearing heard the almost-silent tap of his boots against the hard floor.  
"Well, well, well. Look who it is. The boy who is 'too busy' to train," Vegeta scoffed.  
"Well Vegeta, that's right. I'm too busy taking care of my family to train. But you wouldn't know about that, would you? You just shut yourself in that gravity chamber all day while your woman takes care of the work." Gohan was deliberately baiting Vegeta. It was one of his favorite things to do, mainly since the Saiyan prince was so easy.  
"How dare you!" Vegeta exclaimed angrily. "You little fucking ingrate! I'll-"  
"Vegeta!" A familiar feminine voice called suddenly. "What did I say about using the 'f-word?'"  
Vegeta turned to his mate. "But Trunks isn't here, woman! I can't warp his vocabulary if he's not here!"  
Gohan suppressed a snicker. The great, proud Vegeta, forbidden from his favorite word, because of the psychological affects it might have on his son? The very idea was laughable. Seeing it being enforced was hilarious.  
Bulma turned to Gohan. "Here you go, honey. It's a transformation watch. Just push the red button and it'll create a disguise for you. The watch is tuned into the news, so if anything big happens, you'll know." She turned back to Vegeta. "And you, you big ugly lug, will be sleeping on the couch tonight!" Bulma fearlessly stepped forward and grabbed a handful of his hair. "And no more training today, mister! You're going to do the dishes and take out the trash for once! March!"  
Gohan laughed once more as Vegeta shot him a murderous glance from across the room. He thanked Bulma who brushed it off.  
As he left the building, Gohan happened to glance at his watch. When he saw the time, he almost fell over. "Dammit!" he exclaimed. "It's 5:30!" Gohan had no other choice. The Nimbus wouldn't get him home fast enough. He put his finger over the red button and repressed the screaming thought NEVER PUSH THE RED BUTTON!  
When Gohan depressed the button, a crackling surge of electricity covered him, overwriting his clothes with the stores ones in the watch. Gohan took a moment to check out his costume. A black bodysuit covered him from ankle to wrist to neck, tucked into standard issue Saiyan combat boots and gloves. A green knee-length tunic provided the base of the outfit, cinched at the waist with a small white belt containing various capsules full of food. A horrendous orange helmet complete with antennae topped off the costume.  
"Ugh," Gohan muttered and discarded the helmet. Instead, he used a useful ki trick he learned from Piccolo to let ki crawl across his face. The ki was mirror-like, reflecting light, but also shone with many colors, effectively hiding and distinct features of his face. "Better," Gohan noted aloud. With a second of concentration, a burst of ki forced its way through the soles of Gohan's boots and shot him high into the air, toward his home.  
  
Fin. 


	3. Chapter 3: Satan City Blues

Disclaimer: I own nothing and am writing this for nothing. Don't sue me.  
  
Note: Tien's full name, Tainshinhan, is spelled phonetically, rather than how it really is spelled. I do this to avoid confusing my readers and myself.  
  
Chapter Three: Satan City Blues  
  
OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Gohan settled into a routine. Everyday, he would leave several minutes early for school and take the Nimbus there. His route to school took him through the worst sections of town on purpose, often giving him the opportunity to do a little good.  
It was one of those days (a Monday- Gohan hated Mondays) that Gohan was walking by Satan City Bank. Gohan paused to survey the area around him. There was a group of tough-looking kids sitting in a pickup truck's back, smoking. They were posers, though. No trouble from them. There was a man in a trenchcoat on the other side of the street, holding what suspiciously appeared to be gun beneath the fabric. Gohan shot a small burst of invisible ki from his open mouth and melted the firing mechanism, preventing the weapon from being able to shoot.  
Finally, Gohan located the feeling of wrongness that had tickled the back of his spine. His acute Saiyan ears twitched. He heard something. A faint something. That was it. Gunfire. It was a single sharp crack. Probably a pistol shot- .38 or .44, foreign make. Gohan hesitated a moment more to locate the sound and activated his costume.  
In an explosion of light, the Great Saiyaman rocketed forth, heading into the bank so fast no one even saw him until he reappeared, directly in the middle of a hostage situation.  
"HEY! I said NOBODY MOVE!" A short, fat man shouted, waving around his Uzi submachine gun. The people in the crowd quivered.  
"Look!" An old man shouted, pointing at Gohan. "It's the Great Saiyaman! We're saved!"  
The hostages cheered, but were silenced when Chubby emptied several rounds into the old man's face. Bullets peppered the man's jaw and forehead, slamming him down and onto the floor. With a grunt of rage, Gohan sprung into action.  
Zanzokening to the left, Gohan reappeared long enough to disembowel Chubby with a quick slice to the gut before he was lost again, only visible as a series of black lines. With a short, guttural yell, Gohan focused ki in a tight arc and watched it punch through the shoulder of another crook, who screamed like a frightened woman and collapsed.  
"Dodonpa!" Gohan cried, using Tien and Chaotzu's signature move to remove the head of another thief. A few summers ago, Gohan had taken time to learn the Taiyoken, Dodonpa, and how to grow two more arms out of his shoulders, as well as the entire Crane Style from Tien. It was just one of the strange things Gohan did when he was bored: learn to fight better.  
"I heard gunfire!" Gohan yelled to crowd, made up mostly of elderly people. "Is anyone hurt?" He noticed that they were all avoiding the casualties nervously, as if they were afraid the bodies would leap up and attack them.  
"J-J-Just the manager," one of the old women said, pointing out a corpse Gohan wasn't responsible for. Gohan immediately noticed a large hole in the man's forehead. That at least explained the mystery of the single gunshot Gohan heard.  
"Fine then. Call the police." Gohan spoke as he always did in his Saiyaman personality: short and harsh. "I'm leaving."  
Gohan exited the building as he always did; in a flash of blinding ki, flying high enough so that he disappeared from view. Once high enough, Gohan deactivated his suit and took out a capsule with the number 45 emblazoned on the top. This was the one. Gohan unscrewed the cap, hearing the familiar hiss of air as pressure began to equalize. Tossing the capsule away from him, Gohan waited for a loud pop to sound, them climbed into the capsule car that had appeared in midair. It was a nice model, one with hovering capabilities and a nice blue paint job, but nothing too special. It was very similar to the one his tousan and Piccolo had learned with, all those years ago, before the androids showed. Bulma had given it to him a year ago for Christmas, but he hadn't had an excuse to use it until now.  
When Gohan pulled up into the student lot at Orange Star, several moments later, he was immediately bombarded with Erasa's daily interrogation of his thoughts on her clothes and a brief appraisal of his own. Gohan brushed off the strange teenager's compliments and instead went looking for Videl. He had approached her several times, just trying to get her to talk, but she had harshly rejected him each time. Even a simple "you look nice today" was met with "well who the hell asked you, ugly?"  
Finally, Gohan saw her. She was sitting, as she usually did, by herself, a pile of books spread out before her. Gohan encapsulated his car and slung his bag over his shoulder, walking towards her.  
"Err.hey," he said, mentally cursing himself for sounding like an idiot. "Looks like you've got a lot of work there." Gohan trailed off as she met his gaze.  
"Looks like it," she muttered, gritting her teeth. "And the teachers'll have my ass if I don't get it done in-" she checked her watch. "-twenty minutes."  
Gohan froze. That watch. It was the exact same model as his, without the transformation capabilities. It had an audio-video screen used for communications and was stamped with the seal of the Satan City Police Department.  
"Umm.you want some help?" Videl didn't rebuke him, so Gohan continued. "I mean, I had to do the same stuff last night, so it's pretty fresh in my mind." It was truth. Gohan had been busy as Saiyaman last night, and had had to do his homework around midnight after sneaking into his room.  
Videl gave him a long, critical glance before turning that smoldering gaze downwards. Was that a blush he detected? No, it couldn't be. No way Videl Satan would blush, for any reason. Her response was so quiet Gohan barely heard it. "Fine," she muttered.  
The two set down to the work. The little things, such as Algebraic equations, were done quickly, but the thing that really daunted the both of them was a short essay that was assigned to her by her Classics teacher, Professor Theseus. Gohan wracked his brain for any and all knowledge of the subject, and two just barely managed to finish it before the first bell rang, telling them they better move it.  
"I'll see you at lunch, I guess," Gohan said, scratching the back of his head absently. Videl just gave her usual curt nod and turned, headed towards the Liberate Arts Building for her Sculpture class (Gohan knew this because last week he had followed her for the day).  
Gohan had turned himself, ready to head to Physics and looking forward to see Videl in Music Theory, when a voice stopped him.  
"Gohan?" He whipped around. Videl was standing there, looking like a goddess holding a pile of books. "Thanks. No one's really offered to help me before."  
Gohan grinned broadly, glad at her change of attitude. "I don't know why. I'll see you in Music, right?"  
Videl shook her head. "Actually, no. Schedule change this week. We've got gym instead."  
Gohan barely suppressed a groan. Gym? How was he supposed to control his abilities now? Damn it to Hell. Instead, he affected another grin. "Okay, then I guess I'll see you there."  
Gohan walked off to his first class with a happy memory of her smile and gratitude.  
  
* * *  
  
"When is the Tenckaichi Budoukai, Kibito?" a small, purple-skinned figure asked his companion, a maroon-skinned giant with a grim expression.  
"In seven months, Supreme One."  
The Eastern Kaioshin winced irritably. "I told you not to call me that, Kibito. Have you entered us yet?"  
"Of course, Supreme-"  
"Kibito," Kaioshin said in warning.  
"Of course, Master."  
"Do you suppose anyone on Earth will be able to challenge us? After all, you're stronger than any other being alive, save for perhaps Dabura and Buu itself." Kaioshin sighed. "If only you were, Kibito."  
Kibito sighed as well, looking down at his diminutive lord. "I'm sorry, my lord. I have reached the pinnacle of what I can become. And actually, my lord, I think that I may have some interesting fights. There is a Namekian there, Piccolo, I believe, who has reached roughly two-thirds of my power. The surviving members of the Saiyan race live there, as well. Who knows what powers they have uncovered. The Saiyans seem to be once transformation after another."  
Kaioshin chuckled. "True, Kibito, but if another of them ever reached what their race's true potential again, Majin Buu would not be a problem. A True Saiyan would be able to incinerate Buu with a wave of a finger."  
"I doubt that, my lord. The legends probably exaggerate. Besides, the race is weak now. Remember when their planet was destroyed? Even their king, the strongest one alive at the time, was only as strong as the Grand Kai," Kibito scoffed. He didn't like to think of anyone as stronger than him.  
"Still," the last Kaioshin muttered. "I hope the warriors on Earth are enough. I'd hate to have to do something drastic, like resurrect that Pikkon fellow, or any of those other strange folk who still train, despite being dead."  
"We'll just have to wait and see, Master."  
"You're right, Kibito. One hundred percent right. We'll just have to wait and see."  
  
* * *  
  
Gohan was sitting in his English class when his watch began to bloop softly. The volume was so far down that even his Saiyan hearing had trouble picking it up, but Gohan instantly heard it and turned the vid-screen on, looking surreptitiously down at it below the desk.  
"The attack seems to be a gathering of Mob families en masse and their leader is demanding to speak with no one but Hercule himself," the newscaster was saying, trying to maintain his professional façade. "Reports are still coming in, and yes.wait.I'm getting something." The newscaster pressed his hand to his ear to better hear the reports coming in. "It seems that leader, who is calling himself Montag, has declared that he will kill one hostage for every fifteen minutes Hercule does not show. We bring you live, where Ted McAllen is covering the even as it develops. Ted?"  
Ted the reporter looked wildly at the camera. "If you look, Jim, you can see where Montag and his men are dangling a man from the fourteenth story of the popular Kochi-Bongo Club. We expect that.oh my god! They've just dropped the man, Jim! They just dropped the man! What sick, twisted freaks would do such a thing?! It's madness here, Jim, sheer madness!"  
Gohan began shaking with anger as heard a long scream that was suddenly cut off by a crunching sound. As calmly as his furious demeanor would allow, Gohan held up a hand.  
"Yes, Mr. Son?" their middle-aged teacher asked, his tone as bored and arrogant as always.  
"May I go to the bathroom, Sensei?"  
"If you go to the bathroom, you'll miss class, Mr. Son. I'm afraid it will have to wait."  
Gohan seethed. Damn this self-important little crap, he had important things to do! "Well, sir, I think there was something funny in the cafeteria food today, and since I have a 103 average for a grade in this class as of last week, I think I can miss five minutes of class, sensei."  
His teacher sneered. "Very well, then. But take your things! I'll not admit back-talkers like you when they return from the bathroom! You'll just have to miss the entire period."  
Gohan muttered his thanks and ran out the door. Looking frantically around, Gohan finally spotted what he was after. A roof-access stairwell!  
Several moments later, on the roof, Gohan noticed a puff of smoke from another building belonging to the school. It was a Capsule Copter. Gohan wondered briefly for a moment who it belonged to before shaking himself from his stupor. A click of a button and flash of light later, the Great Saiyaman sped from the roof of Orange Star High School, aimed for the Kochi-Bongo Club.  
  
* * *  
  
Videl Satan took off in her Capsule Copter from the next building over, having heard the exact same report on her own watch moments before. [Stupid crooks] she growled to herself. [Can't even let me finish a whole day without fucking around]  
In reality, Videl was terrified. Not many people knew it, but Montag was a brutal fighter who had almost killed her father in the first Budoukai the great Hercule had won. Montag had sworn vengeance on the new champ. Videl shivered. It didn't matter anyway. She could beat him. . . she hoped. As long as that Saiya-freak didn't show up, she'd be fine. Videl gave a little growl as she piloted her helicopter. Damn freaks. All those wackos from the Budoukais before her father competed had let the Earth down. They had all those strange fighting powers, but who had to save the world from Cell? [My idiot of a father] she growled to herself again. And who had left her in charge of the Special Operations department he started? [My idiot of a father] Now Videl was forced to go around and do his dirty work while he lived it up at his palace, surrounded by whores and sycophants. Son Goku, the Budoukai champion before her father, was never seen with hangers-on or slutty women. Pity he died. He was a real champion, that one. Sure, he was freak, but at least he fought against that Nappa fellow who destroyed the Blue Monarch Air Force a few years ago (Blue Monarch being the country Satan City was in, bordered by the tiny Fry Pan Kingdom, called the 439 Mountain District by most).  
A bleeping noise snapped Videl from her thoughts. She was there. Videl used the cannons in the copter to dispel a foul-smelling smoke into the large, broken panoramic window that took up the club's eighth through twelfth stories. She could coughs, spluttering, and vomiting and knew she had done her job. Videl landed her copter and hoped out, landing in a fighting stance she had learned by watching videos of the 21st Budoukai during Jackie Chun's fight with Son Goku. With a short, guttural yell, Videl fell into her attackers.  
Right kick, left uppercut, backflip, headbutt. Videl became a gyroscopic blur into which foes disappeared into, reappearing only unconscious. This went on for ten minutes until she saw a particularly large man walking towards her through the dispelling smoke. He looked unusually muscled, almost to the point of deformity, and wore a skull cap on his head with a single metal barb on top. Videl also noticed that, tattooed between the prominent veins on his forehead was an elaborate )V( shape. Jumping in the air, Videl extended her right foot, preparing to catch the crook right in the nose. To her great surprise, the world suddenly jolted and became upside-down.  
"Now, now," the giant said. "We can't have any of that." It came out Ve can't haff any of thaht.  
"I am Montag, und I'm here for my revenge. Poor girl, I ask to fight Hercule, and he sends his daughter. Oh vell, better than nothing, I suppose."  
The giant tossed Videl to a compatriot, who put her into a full- nelson and held her there. The need for oxygen roared through her brain.  
"Hercule!" Montag called, motioning for a news man to bring his camera over. "I know you are vatching dis, so come out! Or I do this to your leetle girl!" Montag suddenly reared over and punched her as hard as he could in the stomach. Videl's eyes widened in surprise and pain. Bile rose up, unbidden, spewing forth from her mouth and soaking the ground in front of her. [Damn, missed the bastard] Videl began hacking.  
"You see what your cowardice is costing you, Hercule? Ve vouldn't vant your only daughter to die, vould ve? No answer? Alas, Hercule. I guess I vill haff to kill her und gum looking for you."  
Montag turned back to Videl and began raining blows upon her. She felt ribs give way several times and lost track of the times she had vomited. With nothing in her stomach, Videl had begun to vomit blood. Not a good sign. Internal organs must be damaged.  
"Vell, time to say good-bye, sveety. Remember, you haff your father to blame for thees." The giant called Montag's fist reared back and Videl tried to met his eyes with hers, knowing this was the end. His fist would shatter her nose, cheek, and jawbones, hopefully sending shards of bone through her brain, killing her instantly. Otherwise, she might, unable to do anything for herself, trapped in the shell of her broken body. Unable to watch, she squeezed her eyes shut. [This the end- good-bye, --]  
She was torn from her thoughts as the ground began shaking quite suddenly. A faint roaring noise could be heard, growing louder and louder by the second. Montag drew his fist back. . .more . . .more. Finally, with a slow-motion roar, she saw the fist fly at her. Her pupils dilated to bring in more light and her lips parted to draw in the minutest amount of oxygen possible before-  
"MMMMMOOONNNNTAGGGGG!!!!!" a feral scream sounded, seemingly coming from everywhere. Everyone looked around in panic, save for Montag, who had just thrown his punch to Videl's face.  
Just before Videl was sure to feel impact, his fist was gone. The shadow he had cast on her was gone. And. . . so was her consciousness. The man holding her dropped the dying girl, leaving her to breathe her last in the brown dirt that used to be the club's lawn.  
  
* * *  
  
Gohan screamed the name of giant responsible for so much death and flew, still at full speed, right into him. He had just enough time to register the tattoo on his forehead- before impact. He felt Montag fly at several times the speed of sound into and through the brick wall of the club. At that point, Gohan knew something was wrong. His speed, coupled with the aura of ki around him, should have been enough to utterly disintegrate Videl's tormentor. [No time to waste, stupid!] With another roar of rage, Gohan dove into the terrorists like a wolf among blind, three-legged sheep that had mental issues.  
With a wet snap, Gohan broke the neck of one man and tore off his arm, throwing it so fast through another man's chest it left a burning hole. In his very next breath, Gohan grabbed a man by the face and flung him as hard as he could into the air. Several seconds later, gravity took hold of the would-be crook and he landed with a sickening thud several feet away.  
The foes on the outside dealt with, Gohan dashed inside through the hole Montag made. In the corner, he found what he was looking for. A stairwell! Gohan raced up, meeting two guards along the way, who he disintegrated with a single ki blast each. 2nd floor. Gohan dealt with the few guards he found, dropping each with either a short ki blast or physical attack to a vital area. After locating the stairwell in this floor, Gohan continued right up to the twentieth story, the owner's office. Blasting his way through any resistance he met, Gohan finally reached the large, opulent office the club's owner dwelled in before being dropped twenty stories to his death. Once inside, he saw-  
"Montag!" Saiyaman cried, snarling ferally at the bulbous giant.  
"Yesh, Shaiyaman," the giant sneered, speaking as best he could with a Jondolan Imperium accented-voice and several missing teeth. Saiyaman glared at him, his emotion turning the ki that hid his face brooding red so dark it was nearly black. "Und I'm afraid thersh nahtink you can do to kill me, so you vight was vell geeve ahb now." As he spoke, his accent came out more and more, branding him a foreigner.  
Saiyaman growled, an animal sound that made use of the second set of vocal cords Saiyans possessed for just the occasion. It began low in his throat and rose from a wolf's snarl to a lion's roar, causing the hairs on Montag's 82-inch neck to rise as fear filled his black heart.  
"You really think I can't hurt you?" Saiyaman smirked, adding so much malice to the gesture even Vegeta would have been proud. "We'll have to see about that. After all, I have a personal vendetta against you now. You hurt my friend."  
Montag grinned the grin of fellow warrior about to fight. "I haff studied your fighting style. Partly Turtle Style from Kamesennin, mainly the Demon Style from Ma Junior, and occasional bits of Crane Style from Tsuru-Sennin. You are an accomplished vighter, Saiyaman, no doubt aboud it. However, I vill kill you all the same. Haff you ever heard of Majin Style? I haff learnt it and gained the godlike power that comes from it. Feel my wrath, Saiyaman!"  
Montag jumped at Saiyaman, clearing the desk and roaring like a wounded buffalo. Gohan just dropped into Piccolo's "coiled cobra" stance, a form perfect for reacting to such advances, and grinned predatorily. [Idiot. He told me his power. That must be how he got so strong. . . its not just ki, though. His whole being seems. . .dark. . .like the Demon King, Piccolo's parent. Never heard of Majin. Majin. . .Ma-jin? The demon race? I'll ask Piccolo. That is, after I finish up here.]  
The fight between the Great Saiyaman and Montag was short and brutal. In the end, Montag failed to live up to his promise, and, to pay for his crimes, was left hanging from the horizontal flagpole that stuck out from the office window. Gohan had removed a decent length of the gray rope Montag had for intestines and hung the giant by them, not even giving him the grace of letting the corded gut break his neck. The giant was left there, tongue lolling, to die an amazingly painful death several hours later. His corpse, which wasn't removed until two hours after he died, made even the toughest of police gagged when they removed the body already in the beginning stages of rot.  
"Videl!" Saiyaman cried uncharacteristically when he landed, several seconds after leaving Montag to die on the flagpole. Gohan felt like crying when he saw her pale, twisted body lying in the dirt. Her head was thrown far back, making her bruised neck seem even longer and more graceful than usual. The terrible beauty death had brought her haunted Gohan. His mask of ki began to smoke as it dissolved the tears Gohan shed over the fallen teen.  
Then, quite suddenly, Gohan heard it. His eyes perked and twisted, trying to discern which way the sound was coming from. It was heartbeat, very, very faint. Gohan followed his ears to the origin, hardly daring to hope. However, when his eyes finally rested on her, Gohan allowed himself to believe it. Videl was alive! Gohan's tears of sorrow suddenly became joyful weeping. Searching in his pockets, Gohan scowled. [Not a single Senzu on me. Dammit] There was only one thing left to do.  
Gohan swept up Videl in his arms and poured energy into her, hopefully stabilizing her heartbeat. With his remaining ki, Gohan blasted off, headed towards the top-shaped complex called Kami's Lookout.  
  
Fin. 


	4. Chapter 4: Gohan's Explanation

Disclaimer: I own zip. I make zip writing this. Sue me and I'll write my name in urine on your front lawn as soon as it starts snowing.  
  
Author Notes: Sorry this took so long, writer's block and a very busy time at school made for the delay. I'll have Chapter Five up ASAP.  
  
Chapter Four: Gohan's Explanation  
  
GOHAN FLEW THROUGH THE AIR, hoping against hope that Videl wouldn't die before he reached Karin Tower. When he finally saw the little palace, located halfway up to the Lookout, Gohan sighed with relief. Cradling the little body in his arms tighter to him, Gohan barely slowed down enough to avoid turning Yaijirobe into a steaming pile of overweight mess.  
"Yaijirobe, where's Karin?" Gohan snapped, still holding Videl in his arms. "I need a Senzu, InowI.  
"Whoa, Gohan, is that you? What's with the costume? And who's that?" Yaijirobe turned to Videl with a slightly lecherous grin. When he met Gohan's glare, the grin disappeared. The lazy fighter's laid-back demeanor vanished as he finally grasped the seriousness of the situation. "Karin! Karin! Gohan's here and he needs a Senzu really fast!" Gohan winced as he powerful ears picked up Yaijirobe's shout, not two feet away from him.  
"I'm coming, I'm coming," the godly cat muttered, waddling from the interior of his small palace, a brown bag in one hand and his staff in the other. "Gohan can- oh, my," the lord exclaimed softly at seeing Videl. "Where did you find this one, Gohan?"  
"She was beaten almost to death by a person with that 'dark ki' I told Dende about two weeks ago. She was trying to help people."  
Karin motioned for Gohan to place Videl on a soft pallet he conjured for her and began examining her, lifting this and that limb, pinching in certain places. Several times Videl would moan and stir in seemingly uncontrollable spasms of pain. Each time this happened, Gohan would try to bat Karin away, but the cat would just give him his level, wise stare and Gohan would back off. After ten minutes of this, Karin finally relented and placed a Senzu in Videl's mouth, poking her throat to make her swallow.  
At once, Videl began to splutter and cough. She sat up, the bruises and cuts suddenly healed, leaving her face unmarred by scar tissue. Before she could say anything, Karin tipped a bottle full of red fluid into her mouth. Videl blinked once, her violet eyes widening, then dropped back to the pallet, instantly asleep.  
"What did you do, cat?" Gohan demanded angrily, shooting to his feet.  
"Please, calm down, child. I only gave her a potion to help her sleep. That Senzu healed her wounds, but nearly exhausted her ki supply. She needs rest, child; at least a few hours. You may bring her in there," Karin gestured with a furry arm to a small room off the palace.  
"Thanks, Karin." Gohan hoisted Videl in his arms carried her to the room Karin had let them use and gently put Videl down on the bed. Careful not to disturb her, he wrapped her in the light coverlet and sat down on the only chair in the room, waiting for her to awake.  
  
{Four Hours Later}  
  
Videl blinked sleepily and looked up at Gohan, not really recognizing him. She took him in, seeing the familiar demi-Saiyan features dressed in the even more familiar clothes of the Great Saiyaman. Her mind worked furiously, trying to figure out why she was sitting in an unrecognizable room being watched over by a secret crush dressed her worst enemy's clothes instead of wherever people go when they're dead. Finally, she succumbed to simply asking him.  
"Gohan?" she breathed, sounding far weaker than she usually preferred. The teen snored on, slumped low in his chair. "Gohan?" she repeated. Finally, she lost her temper. "GOHAN!" she bellowed, the teen falling from his chair as he bolted upright.  
"No! Piccolo, I promise, I'll learn the Makankosappo! Don't-" Gohan broke off abruptly as he realized where he was. Videl wondered idly what the Makankosappo was before she remembered her questions.  
"Gohan?" she asked him, her voice turning to that of one who just woke up.  
"Videl? How are you feeling?" Gohan asked gently.  
"I'm fine. Actually," Videl paused, biting her lip. "I'm better than fine. I haven't this goof for. . .well, a long time. Where am I? This isn't the hospital."  
Gohan cleared his throat and looked around nervously. "Um. . .about that. Videl, what I'm about to tell you sounds pretty unbelievable. I could just lie, but I respect you too much to lie. I'm going to tell you everything. Whether you believe me or not, I promise you that this is truth." Gohan waited a moment longer, seemingly to collect his thoughts. Videl cleared her throat politely. [I'll just listen to what he has to say. I mean, if couldn't be too weird, right? I was near death and still made it, so I guess I owe him a few minutes of my time] Videl wondered idly what time it was. It was nearly impossible to tell in her surreal surroundings.  
"Okay, look. It all begins with my dad, Son Goku," Gohan began, taking a seat again.  
"Your dad is ISon GokuI?!" Videl exclaimed. How could such a harmless fellow like Gohan be related to the former most advanced fighter on Earth?  
"Yeah," Gohan blinked, as if this was no big news. "Of course he is. Anyway, it all started when. . .err. . ." Gohan suddenly realized Videl wouldn't be buying any story about aliens. Instead, Gohan changed the story to add a degree of vagueness to it. "My dad was born into this warrior society, see, called the Saiyans. They sent him off to this mountain to kill everyone in that . . .nation and burn it to the ground. They were really warlike, you see. The only thing is, my dad hit his head, and all his programming was lost. He became an extremely powerful, extremely kind, fighter. . ."  
Gohan proceeded to tell Videl all about his father's adventures when he was younger, telling her of the Dragonballs, of Bulma and Yamcha and the rest of his father's friends. He went into great depth on his father's marriage to Chi-Chi and his subsequent fight with Ma Junior, better known to Gohan as Piccolo-san, his first master. Videl sat quite patiently through the whole thing, never once interrupting again. Finally, Gohan got to the part he dreaded most. The Cell Games. Thinking on the spot, Gohan told her this.  
"My father fought Cell too, you know. He used every move he had, every technique in his arsenal. He knew he couldn't beat him after fighting him for nearly an hour straight. He did the only thing he could think of. He chose me to fight Cell."  
"But you were only a little boy!" Videl gasped. "How could he put such a responsibility on you?"  
Gohan looked at her with a level gaze before answering, as if wondering if she should hear the truth.  
"He did only what he thought best. He chose me, Videl, because he knew I was the only hope we had. I might have only been eleven, Videl, but I did it. Your father didn't kill Cell. I did. In the process, I lost my father forever. That's why the Son family stopped participating in the Budoukai. I couldn't bear to fight against a pretender like Satan Hercule; I probably would have killed him," Gohan said, forgetting momentarily Videl was Hercule's daughter.  
"So. . .you're saying that all these years my dad has been lying when he said he did it all by himself?" Videl's tone was masked; Gohan wasn't sure what she was feeling.  
"I'm afraid so, Videl," Gohan said, keeping his own tone carefully neutral.  
Videl paused for a moment, then jumped up, laughing joyfully. Gohan fell over, astounded at her sudden display of emotion. He had never seen her act like a fellow human being before.  
"Gohan, do you know how great this is?! All my life, I've hoped and hoped that what Daddy said wasn't true! Don't you see? My dad is a fake, a pretender! We have to expose him, Gohan! Can't you see that?"  
"Videl, I don't want any money or spotlight. My family and I only want to be left alone. That's why we live way out in Fry Pan Kingdom, on Mt. Fry Pan itself. The only contact with people we have is a general store a four hour drive away and the other Z-Senshi. To live in the winter, I hunt game for us. There's a reason for that, you know. We just want to be left alone. Let the world idolize your father; the people need their heroes. We just want to quietly honor my father's memory in peace."  
"But Gohan, allowing people to think your father died because he was a coward and weakling is an insult to his memory! Do you know what my dad said about him? He said that your dad gave up, and that he had to finish Cell alone. Son Goku's reputation as a fighter is worth shit nowadays. Muten Roshi hasn't had a single application for a student since he died, and the Turtle Style is Ithis closeI to being classified as a 'lost art' by the Budoukai Regulation Panel! How can you say that's honoring your father's memory?"  
Gohan stared at the teen, shocked at the passion in her argument. "You must really hate your dad, huh?"  
Videl's eyes swept back to her feet. "He left my mother right after the Cell Games and hasn't been with only one woman at a time since. I grew up trying to find new ways of deafening the noise of Dad and the whore he had brought home that night. He planted drugs in my mother's apartment and sued for her visitation rights to be revoked. When she killed herself a couple months later, I wasn't even told. . ." Videl trailed off, sniffling. Sensing her discomfort, Gohan awkwardly put an arm around her.  
"It's okay, Videl. . .I mean it. Here's what I'll do. I'll enter in the next Budoukai as the Great Saiyaman, and before my match, I'll tell the whole world who I am and then humiliate your father in the finals. Sound good?"  
Videl's sniffles subsided slightly and she put a head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Gohan. But are you sure you can get ready by June?"  
Gohan grinned broadly. Unless one of the Z-senshi decided to arbitrarily sign up, he wouldn't even need to use his Super Saiyan form to beat the Earth's supposed "best fighters." Knowing that he couldn't tell Videl this, Gohan settled on another half-lie.  
"As long as me and you work together instead of against each other to curb crime in the city, I'll have plenty of time to train. 'Sides, if I ever need a work-boost, I'll just ask Bulma to lemme use her gravity room."  
Videl arched in eyebrow, trying to maintain her sarcastic façade despite Gohan's revelation. "You know Bulma Briefs well enough to ask her to kick that husband of hers out of the gravity chamber?"  
"You mean Vegeta?" Gohan laughed loudly. "Aww, don't worry about him. He may seem scary, but deep down, he's a softy."  
"Tell that to the CEO of Corporate Industries. A few years ago, he grabbed Bulma's ass, so Vegeta ripped off his arm and relocated it to his rectal cavity."  
Gohan doubled over laughing at this tidbit of information. "I remember that. Bulma made him sleep on the couch for weeks! He was really pissed off when I went to train with them that week. . ." Gohan cut off abruptly as he saw Videl's expression.  
"You train with the only guy in the world people say might be able to challenge my dad?"  
"Train with him? Sure, about once a month or so. Usually I'm busy with school and Saiyaman, and when I do train, I like to do it with my brother Goten or Piccolo-" Gohan stopped again. "What? What did I say now?"  
"Piccolo? The Demon King who tried to take over the world?" Videl gritted her teeth. "I thought your father killed him!"  
"Oh, no," Gohan laughed. "The Demon King's son, Ma Junior. We just call him Piccolo. He tried to kill my dad a couple times, but he turned all right in the end. My dad beat him to win his first Budoukai."  
"Then why didn't your dad come back to fight? My dad only won his first one because yours didn't show. From what you tell me, your dad should have dominated mine."  
Gohan, not knowing how to respond to this, just grinned. "He was getting ready to fight Nappa, that giant who destroyed the airforce a couple years ago. But enough of ancient history right now, it's getting late. I can drop you off at home if you want."  
"Uh, sure. Speaking of which, where are we, anyway? And how I am fine? I was pretty sure that Montag guy killed me before you showed up."  
Gohan grinned and offered her his hand, helping her to her feet. "We're in a place called Karin's Tower, located half-way to the Lookout of the Earth's Kami, or guardian. His name's Dende and he's a pretty good pal of mine. You've been healed by a senzu bean, which are grown by Karin, and heal you of any wound instantly," he told he as she threw of the blankets and followed him out to the enclosed courtyard. Carefully skirting in the hole in the floor where the ladder poked through, Gohan bowed respectfully to Karin and bid Yaijirobe farewell.  
"Thank you for healing Videl, Karin-sama," Gohan bent neatly at the waist. "Thank you for reacting so quickly, Yaijirobe-san." Gohan took Videl's hand as he gathered his ki, preparing to fly.  
"Hey, what're you-" Videl began to protest before Gohan shushed her.  
"It's much faster this way."  
With a final wave of farewell, Gohan blasted off, carrying the (to him) featherlight Videl beneath him like he had carried Bulma when helping her run from the androids so long ago. As the two teens sped towards Videl's home in Satan Manor on the outskirts of Satan City, Videl wondered how on Earth Gohan could fly. Had Bulma Briefs rigged up some thing in that suit of his? Finally, unable to figure it out on her own, Videl decided to just ask Gohan. He had been pretty forthright so far.  
"Gohan," she began, shouting to be heard over the rushing wind. "Do you wear that suit because it has the flight device built in, or just as a disguise?"  
"Flight device?" Gohan shouted back. "Why would the suit need a flight device when I can do it on my own?"  
At this point, Videl wasn't going to automatically discount anything Gohan said, no matter how immpossible. Still though, she was doubtful that Gohan could actually IflyI.  
"It's actually pretty easy, as long as you can control your ki. In fact, I bet I could teach you how to do it, if you want. There are plenty of places by my house where no one could see us. How bout it?"  
Videl reached up and smacked Gohan. "How dumb do you think I am? Flying lessons? Honestly, Son Gohan, I would have thought you above that! You're just trying to lure me to your house so you can-"  
"No, no, Videl, that's not how it is at all!" Gohan protested. "I mean it- I can teach you how to fly!" Videl noted with some amusement that the seeming-invincible warrior was near purple from flushing so hard.  
"Okay, okay, I'll believe you. You don't strike me as the type anyway. If you were that Sharpner kid. . ." she trailed off and joined Gohan in a small chuckle.  
"Well, we're here," Gohan said, suddenly touching down. Videl looked around, shocked. He was right, there were here. They must have been going fast; that tower place was at least four hundred miles from Satan Manor. "I'll talk to you in school tomorrow about those lessons."  
As Gohan turned to leave, a pale white aura snapping to life around him, Videl suddenly turned to face his back and blurted out.  
"Uh, Gohan, d'you think we could do it this weekend, sometime?"  
Gohan paused to consider this. "Well, sure," he said thoughtfully. "Nice to have a student so eager. I'll see you around, Videl." Gohan bowed and rose several feet in the air before Videl blurted again.  
"And. . . uh. . .thanks, Gohan! I owe you my-" but Gohan couldn't hear, because he was already two miles away, looking forward to teaching a certain attractive girl how to fly.  
  
Fin.  
  
NEXT: Flying Lessons, more Goten. The Z-senshi find out about the tournament and Goku makes an entrance. More Kaioshin, Kibito, Babidi, Dabura, and Piccolo. Sharpner makes and unexpected- and unpleasant- entrance. 


End file.
